Aḍbhār Plates of Nannarāja II, undated

Editor: Natasja Bosma.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSDaksinaKosala00029.

Hand description:

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: Dakṣiṇa Kosala (tfb-daksinakosala-epigraphy).

Version: (048a990), last modified (f94ae3a).

Edition

⟨Page 1r⟩

⟨Page 1v⟩ ⟨1v1⟩ @svasti śr¿i?⟨ī⟩purād anekajanmāntarārādhitabhagavannārāya⟨1v2⟩ṇabhaṭṭārakapādaprasādāsāditanayavinayasatyatyāga⟨1v3⟩śauryy(ā)diguṇasampatsa{ṁ}mpāditaprathamapṛthvīpatipra(bh)āvapa⟨1v4⟩ribhāvisambhāvanasya bhāvanābhyāsaprakāśībhūtanirmma⟨1v5⟩lajñeyaśaśinaḥ śaśiva¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩śasaṁbhūteḥ svabhujaparākramo⟨1v6⟩pārjitasakalakosalotkalādimaṇḍalādhipatyaprāptamāhā⟨1v7⟩tmyasya śr¿i?⟨ī⟩mahāśi(va)tīvararājasya pradyumn¿ā?⟨a⟩ Iva kaiṭabhārer ātma⟨1v8⟩ja(s ta)c caritānukaraṇaparāyaṇaḥ prāptasakala(k)osalāma⟨Page 2r⟩⟨2r1⟩ṇḍalādhipatyaḥ paramavaiṣṇavo mātāpitṛpādānudhyātaḥ śr¿i?⟨ī⟩ma⟨2r2⟩hānannarāja⟨ḥ⟩ kuśal¿i?⟨ī⟩|| Aṣṭadvāraviṣaye kontiṇīkagrāme brā⟨2r3⟩hmaṇā¡ṁ!⟨n⟩ sampūjya prativāsinaḥ samājāpayati

viditam astu ⟨2r4⟩ vo yathāsmābhir ayaṁ gram¿a?⟨o⟩ yāvad raviśaśitārākiraṇapra⟨2r5⟩tihataghorāndhakāraṁ jagad avatiṣṭhate tāvad u(pa)bhogyaḥ sa⟨2r6⟩nidhi⟨ḥ⟩ sopanidhir a{ḥ}cāṭabhaṭa{ḥ}prāveśya⟨ḥ⟩ sarvvakarādānasameta⟨ḥ⟩ ⟨2r7⟩ sarvvap¿i?⟨ī⟩ḍāvarjito mātāpittror ātmanaś ca pu¡n!⟨ṇ⟩yābhi¡b!⟨v⟩ṛddhaye{ḥ} kau⟨2r8⟩ṇḍinyasagotrāya vājasaneyamādhya⟨n⟩dinabhāgavatabrāhmaṇa⟨Page 2v⟩⟨2v1⟩nārāyaṇopādhyāyāya mātāpittror ātmanaś ca puṇyābhi¡b!⟨v⟩ṛddhaye⟨2v2⟩bhādrapadakṛṣṇadvādaśyā⟨ṁ⟩ saṁkrāntau Udakapūrvva⟨ṁ⟩ śāsanena pra⟨2v3⟩tipādita Ity

avagamya vidheyair bhūtvā samucitaṁ bhogabhāga⟨2v4⟩m upanayadbhi⟨ḥ⟩ sukhaṁ prativasta¡b!⟨v⟩yam iti|| bhāvinaś ca bhūmi⟨2v5⟩pālān ud⟨d⟩iśyedam abhidh¿i?⟨ī⟩yate

I. Vasantatilakā

bhūmipradā divi lala{ṁ}⟨2v6⟩nti pata{ṁ}nti hanta

a

hṛtvā mah¿i?⟨ī⟩ṁ nṛpatayo narake nṛśa¡n!⟨ṁ⟩sā⟨T⟩

b

⟨2v7⟩ Etad ⟨d⟩vaya⟨ṁ⟩ parikalayya calāñ ca lakṣmīm

c

āy¿ū?⟨u⟩s tathā kurutha ⟨Page 3r⟩ ⟨3r1⟩ yad bhavatām abh¿i?⟨ī⟩ṣṭa{ṁ}M|

d

Api ca

II. Anuṣṭubh

dān¿ā?⟨a⟩{t}pālanayos tāvat phala⟨ṁ⟩ ⟨3r2⟩ sugat(i)durgatī

a

ko nāma svargam utsṛjya narakaṁ pratipa⟨3r3⟩dyate||

b

¡b!⟨v⟩yāsag¿i?⟨ī⟩tā⟨ṁ⟩ś cātra ślokān udāharanti||

III. Indravajrā

Agner apatyaṁ ⟨3r4⟩ prathamaṁ suvarṇaṁ

a

bhūr vvaiṣṇavī sūryyasutāś ca gāvaḥ

b

Apparatus

⟨1v6⟩ pradyumn¿ā?⟨a⟩ ⬦ pradyumna BJ; pradyumn¿ā?⟨a⟩ AMS.

⟨2r7⟩ °pittror ⬦ °pittror BJ; °pitror AMS.

⟨2v1⟩ °pittror ⬦ °pittror BJ; °pitror AMS. — ⟨2v1⟩ mātāpittror ātmanaś ca puṇyābhi¡b!⟨v⟩ṛddhaye • This passage is a reptition of the same passage in line 2r7, which makes it redundant.

Translation by Natasja Bosma

(1v1–2r3) Success! Hail! From Śrīpura, that son of the illustrious Mahāśiva Tīvararāja just as Pradyumna was a son of Kaiṭabhāri (i.e., Viṣṇu)—(Tīvararāja) whose splendour exceeds that of the first lord of the earth (i.e., Pṛthvī) through the perfection of qualities like leadership, modesty, truthfulness, liberality, heroism, and the like, which were acquired by the grace of the honourable god Nārāyaṇa, [who was pleased with] the adoration in several previous births; who was [like] the moon in his bright existence and spotless knowledge through the repeated practice of meditation; whose birth is in the family of the Moon; and who obtained an exalted status for [having] sovereignty over the whole of Kosala, as well as Utkala and other surrounding countries, which he procured by the power of his own arms—(Tīvararāja’s son)the illustrious Mahā-Nannarāja who is wholly intent on following the example of [his father’s] deeds; who has obtained sovereignty over the whole country of Kosala; who is entirely devoted to Viṣṇu; who is favoured by his father and mother; and who is in good health, issues [the following command] to the residents of [the village of] Kontiṇīka in the Aṣṭadvāra viṣaya, while saluting the Brahmins:

(2r3–2v3) Let it be known to you that by means of a charter and preceded by a libation of water, this village has been granted by us for the increase of religious merit of father, mother, and ourselves to the Brahmin teacher Nārāyaṇa, who was a devotee of Viṣṇu and who belonged to the Kauṇḍinya gotra and the Vājasaneya-Mādhyandina [school], on the occasion of a saṁkrānti on the twelfth day of the dark half of the month of Bhādrapada. [The grant of the village] is to be enjoyed as long as the world will endure, [the world] of which the darkness of the night is removed by the rays of the sun, moon and stars; [comes along with the right to] hidden treasures and deposits; is not to be entered by irregular or regular troops; comes along [with the right to] all taxes [payable to the king]; and is free from any oppression.

(2v3–2v5) Knowing this, [you] should be obedient [to the received orders] and render the proper [shares of] periodical offerings and produce, while living happily [in this village]. And this is said for the instruction of the future kings:

2v5–3r1
[Kings] who donate land sport in heaven, [but] look, kings who have taken land fall into hell for their wickedness. After having taken to heart these two rules and taken hold of Lakṣmī, you should live you life as you wish!

And also:

3r1–3r3
Fortune and misfortune are truly the fruit of protecting and not protecting [the land]; who then discards heaven and resorts to hell?

(3r3) And they quote the [following] stanzas sung by Vyāsa:

3r3–3r4
Gold is the first child of Agni, land is born of Viṣṇu, and cows are the offspring of Sūrya: [Therefore, whoever would give gold, a cow, and land would give the three worlds.]

Commentary

Despite being a complete set of three copperplates, the content of this charter is unfinished. The recto side of the third copperplate is engraved with four complete lines and ends abruptly after the first half of an exhortatory verse. Hence, the record was not provided with a date. Given that there is enough space for, at least, another three lines on the recto side of the plate, and the verso side is blank as well, there does not seem to have been a technical reason for leaving it unfinished. There is no seal available for these copperplates and it remains unclear whether the set was originally sealed in the first place.

Bibliography

First edited by Jain 1955–1956 from the original plates; published again by Shastri 1995, pp. 116–118; re-edited here by Natasja Bosma based on the published photographs.

Primary

[BJ] Jain, Balchandra. 1955–1956. “Adhabhara plates of Maha-Nannaraja.” EI 31, pp. 219–222.

[AMS] Shastri, Ajay Mitra. 1995. Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins and Somavaṁśins, Part II: Inscriptions. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research; Motilal Bandarsidass. Pages 116–118.

Secondary

Bosma, Natasja. 2018. Dakṣiṇa Kosala: A rich centre of early Śaivism. Groningen: Barkhuis. [URL]. Pages 34, 55–56, 98, 246.